As the Internet becomes one of the necessities of the modern world, people are able to publish or expose their own opinions to the public more easily than before. Although people are free to write any words that they want to express, there are many responsibilities that come with producing commentary. A spelling error can bring a problem as big as a hurricane's formation. Is it desirable to translate all of our thoughts and opinions into words and publish for public consumption?

 

What is the Relationship between freedom of speech and the Publication Process? 

The 21st Amendment of the Constitution

(1) All citizens shall enjoy freedom of speech and the press, and freedom of assembly and association.

(2) Licensing or censorship of speech and the press, and licensing of assembly and association shall not be recognized.

(3) The standards of news service and broadcast facilities and matters necessary to ensure the functions of newspapers shall be determined by law.

(4) Neither speech nor the press shall violate the honor or rights of other persons nor undermine public morals or social ethics, Should speech or the press violate the honor or rights of other persons, claims may be made for the damage resulting therefrom

 
    According to the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, all Koreans' freedom of speech and publication is protected. But the problem is that the boundary of the freedom is vague. Freedom of speech and publication is a free mental activity of announcing one's inwardly mental operations. Here, the idea of freedom is closely related to political debate and the concept of democracy. Under a democratic government, the political decisions are ultimately made by citizens. 
    Alexander Meiklejohn asserted that for the democratic system to work an informed electorate is necessary. For constituencies to be appropriately knowledgeable in making decisions there must be no obstacles on the free flow of information and ideas. It is not safe to say a nation is democratic if those who are in power manage the electorate through censorship. Manipulating the free press negates the meaning of democratic ideals.

 

Restricted Freedom of Speech 
    In May, Frank La Rue, U.N. special reporter for freedom of opinion and expression, reported that inSouth Korea, since the candlelight demonstration in 2008, there have been increased restrictions on individual's rights for freedom of speech. This is primarily due to the increasing number of prosecutions, based on levies that are ofter not in conformity with international standards of individuals who express views who are not in agreement with the position of the government. The current Korean government prosecutes individuals for dissenting comments, which limits personal opinion and violates freedom of speech. Here are some recent cases. [Source : http://www.koreaherald.com]

 

Case 1 : Socialtainer

 
Ex-anchor Shin Kyung-min 
    Since March 2008, Shin has been famous for his critical remarks at the end of news shows. His comments not only targeted Lee Myung-bak's administration, but also the liberals.    

  

 

 
Veteran Comedian and Radio DJ, Kim Mi-hwa 
    She hosted the popular MBC radio show <The World and Us>. This program has been ousted. However, it was later retained when public anger arose. Her narration of a KBS documentary program was rejected in April. She is reportedly on a KBS blacklist. 

 

 

Rocker Yoon Do-hyun 
    Earlier, in March 2010, the scheduled appearance of the Yoon Do-hyun Band on KBS was cancelled. KBS's decision lacked a clear-cut and immediate reason, leading to suspicions that the lead singer Yoon's outspoken liberal campaigns may have been the reason for the cancellation. Yoon has been at the vanguard of various anti-government rallies; including the anti-U.S. beef protest last year and a one-man protest against a dispatch of troops to Iraq in 2003. 

Actress Kim Yoh-jin 
    On June 15, she was summoned by the police for questioning her participation in a sit-in protest in support of labor union members at Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction's shipyard. She makes a dissenting voice against current administration.

 

Case 2 : The Minerva case 

 
    Minerva is the internet username of a "netizen" who wrote about the Korean economy and the economic policies of the Korean government. Minerva's writing evoked the ore of the Korean government. Prosecutors arrested, Park Dae-sung, a man who pegged as Minerva, on thc charge of electronically spreading false rumors that damage the public good. The true identity of Minerva, however, remains to be established. The arrest has also drawn international scrutiny. Minerva posted articles in Daum Agora, one of the largest internet debate bulletin boards in South Korea, from March 2008 to January 2009.  
   Minerva has successfully predicted major event in the Korean economy. He was quick provide solutions for both the government and households. Despite his warnings, the Korean government's eco-nomic policies remained controversial; with Minerva becoming one of the most influential critics of the government's policies. As such, Minerva became known as the Internet Economic President." Our of his famous predictions was this: the collapse of Lehman Brothers and its potential consequences, and the sharp decline of the South Korea Won against the U.S. dollar at specified time points. 

Case 3 : G20 and the Wall Painting 

 
    An anonymous person named Mr. Park, a university lecturer, and his colleague Mr. Chol came under suspicion on October 31 of 2010 between 0:33 to 2:00 a.m. when they lacquered a design of a rat on 22 large-promo installed by the Preparatory Committee of the G20 summit. A prosecutor claimed that what they did was an organized criminal activity; not an art activity. They were sentenced to ten months in prison.

 

Case 4 : Censorship Revived 
    The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Affairs planned to revise censorship criteria which had been denounced as outdated and rigid. SM Entertainment, the largest showbiz agency in South Korea, filed a lawsuit in March against the ministry's decision to label one of its albums, "SM The Ballad," as harmful to the youth. SM claimed it was an infringement on creativity and expression on the grounds that liquor is not the main subject of the song. The Commission of Youth Protection, a ministry of Gender Equality and Family affiliate, argued that the phrases could provoke curiosity from the youth and lure them into early drinking. But, a Seoul court advised the government to cancel its decision to target the K-pop song in question. 

 



A Violent Freedom 
    Freedom of speech should be guaranteed. But, excessive freedom often drives people to commit suicide. Freedom must entail responsibilities. 

 

 

Case 1 : Choi Jin-sil
    Korea's iconic actress Choi Jin-sil was found dead in her home in what appeared to be a suicide, according to Yonhap News Agency. This comes amid rumors that linked her to the recent death of another actor. Rumors have circulated on the Web that Choi had lent a large sum of money to Ahn Jae-hwan who was found inside his car in an apparent suicide. Ahn was reportedly in deepening debt due to a failing business. Ahn's financial troubles were seen as the chief factor leading up to his suicide. choi sought a police probe into the source of the groundless rumors. Police arrested a securities company employee this week on the allegation of spreading rumors that choi lent 2.5 billion won to Ahn. 

Case 2 : Jang Chae-won
    Transgender Jang Chae-won, a familiar face after appearing on a popular TV program, was found dead on her Seoul home in an apparent suicide, police said. The public and media had referred to Jang as the "next Harisu," a wellknown transgender singer and actress, The police found out that prior to her death, Jang had told a friend that she understood how Choi felt. Jang first made her media appearance as a male in female attire on a TV show in 2004. He reappeared in 2005 on the same show, this time following a gender change surgery. Due to her TV appearances, Jang had also suffered from negative comments from netizens for being transgender.  

 

    The aforementioned examples are focused on celebrities. They are quite vulnerable when their privacy is exposed. But ordinary people also suffer from negative comments on the Internet. Reckless and malignant comments make anyone stressed and uncomfortable. Freedom of speech should also come with an adherence to prudence and respect for the liberties of others.

 

Going beyond the Boundary 

Case 1: Freedom and Liu Xiaobo1  

 
    Last October, when the winner of the Nobel peace Prize was nominated, the whole world's attention was on China. The winner was a Chinese dissident, Liu Xiaobo. He is an activist calling for political reforms and the end of communist one-party rule in the People's Republic of China (PRC). PRC has achieved economic development in a short period of time. PRC has not allowed people to have freedoms such as: acess to media, individual expression, and free association; all of which arc indicated in the PRC constitution. Strict Chinese government restriction is not the main point of concern in this case. What is important, here, is that most Chinese were unable to hear the news that Liu Xiaobo won the prize. The biggest Chinese searching engine Baidu showed articles about Liu won the prize in a translated version to foreign media. Also, it was not possible to find articles about Liu from Sohu and other afferent journals. 

Case 2: Wikileaks and julian Assange  

 
    For the last couple of years, the world has been in uproar over WikiLeaks. It is an international nonprofit organization that has private or confidential documents of many governments, companies, and other organizations that carry out immoral activities. Julian Paul Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is described as a director of this association. According to him, he is just protecting electorates' right to know information and allowing them to make serious political decisions on their own.
    There is a lor of unfiltered classified informationposted on this web pace. In April 2010, WikiLeaks published a video of the U.S. Apache helicopter Killing civilans including Iraqi journalists. Not only this, but also much more information actually delivered fatal blows to many governments and politicians.  
   Taking these two cases into consideration, we are confronted with the important issue of whether our freedom of speech and publication should surely be protected under the Constitution. The problems related to freedom of speech and publication are not confined to Korea

A Prudent Approach to Freedomof Speech  

 
    It is very difficult to define freedom of expression. Also, separating freedom from license is ambiguous. People need to use their freedom wisely. It is a double-edged sword. For instance, freedom of speech and publication on the Internet is to blame for suicides made by several Korean celebrities. On the other hand, WikiLeaks exposes uncomfortable truths. 
    We need co distinguish liberty from license; which takes no responsibilities. However, as many people already know, there is a big gap between the two. As the Constitution protects one's freedom of speech and publication, one also has to be responsible on what they are doing, In addition, governments and organizations should allow individuals' freedom. By doing so, we can continue to build an ideal democratic society. 

 

Source 

1. http://ojsfile.ohmynews.com/MOV_T_IMG/2010/0119/ME000062333

2. http://spots.donga.com/Feed/EnterKisa/3/02/20100719/29973445/1

3. http://blogimg.ohmynews.com/attach/20414/1197365376.jpg

4. http://img.viewsnnews.com/article/2010/11/1611025394457400.jpg

5. http://ask.nate.com/qna/view.html?n=8938847

6. http://cfs2.tistiry.com/upload_control/download.blog.fhandle=ymxvZzY2MDgwQGZzMi50aX0b3J5
LmNvbTovYXROYWNoLzEvMTc5LmpwZw%3D%3D

 

By So Hae-jin  CP Reporter  so-hj@cnu.ac.kr
by  Lee Da-young  CP Reporter   ekdud@cnu.ac,kr

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